Glossary of Legislative Terms
Act
A bill or measure after it passes one or both chambers. Also used to denote a law in place.
Adjournment
To end a legislative day. Recess does not end a legislative day.
Amendment
A proposal to change or an actual change to a bill, a motion, an act or the U.S. Constitution.
Apportionment
Allocation of legislative seats by law. The 435 seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned to states based on population.
Appropriations Bill
Grants the actual monies approved by authorization bills, but not necessarily to the total permissible under the authorization bill. Originates in the House, and is usually not acted on until the companion authorization measure is passed.
Authorization Bill
Authorizes a program, specifies its general aim and conduct, and puts a ceiling on monies that can be used to finance it. Usually enacted before an appropriations bill is passed.
Bill
A proposed law.
Caucus
The meeting of members of a political party, usually to decide policy or select members to fill positions. Also, the group itself.
Chamber
Either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Cloture
In the Senate, the only way to end a filibuster is through a cloture vote. If a super majority of 60 senators vote for cloture, time limits for debate will be set.
Conference Committee
A committee composed of senators and representatives named to work out differences between same-subject bills passed by both chambers. If a compromise is reached, it must then be approved by the Senate and House.
Congressional Record
The printed, daily account of debates, votes and comments in the House and Senate published by the Government Printing Office.
Continuing Resolution
If Congress has not enacted all the necessary appropriations bills when a fiscal year begins, it passes a joint resolution continuing appropriations at rates generally based on those of the previous year.
Earmark
To specify funds for a particular purpose.
Executive Session
A meeting closed to the public.
Expenditures
The actual spending of money as distinguished from its appropriation. The administration makes expenditures; Congress votes appropriations. The two are rarely identical in any fiscal year, for expenditures may represent money appropriated in previous years.
Filibuster
A device, used only in the Senate, to delay or prevent a vote by time-consuming talk. It can be stopped only by a 60-member vote of the senators present and voting.
Five-Minute Rule
A debate-limiting rule of the House. Under the rule, a member offering an amendment is allowed to speak five minutes in its favor, and an opponent of the amendments is allowed to speak five minutes in opposition. Debate is then closed.
Gag or Closed Rule
Prohibits amendments not approved by the committee which brought the bill to the House floor. At the request of the sponsoring committee, the House must either accept or reject the bill as recommended by the sponsoring committee. The procedure is usually limited to tax and Social Security bills which are complicated and highly technical.
H.R.
Stands for House of Representatives and designates a bill originating in the House.
Hopper
A wooden box into which representatives place proposed bills.
Joint Committee
A committee of senators and representatives.
Majority Leader
Leader of the majority party in either the House or the Senate. In the House, second in command to the Speaker.
Mark Up
The section-by-section review and revision of a bill by committee members.
Minority Leader
Leader of the minority party in either the House or the Senate.
Omnibus Bill
A legislative proposal concerning several separate but related items.
Override a Veto
Congress may try to override the president's veto in order to enact a bill into law. The override of a veto requires a recorded vote with a two-thirds majority in each chamber.
Pocket Veto
A rarely used device by which the president could kill a bill without a formal veto by simply not signing a bill during a period of congressional adjournment.
President pro tempore
Because the vice president, who is president of the Senate is seldom present to preside, the Senate elects a "president pro tempore," or temporary president who, if he does not preside each day, assigns the job to another senator, usually of junior seniority.
Quorum
The number of members whose presence is necessary for the transaction of business.
Ranking Member
Member of the majority party on a committee who ranks first in seniority after the chair.
Ranking Minority Member
The senior member (in terms of service) of the minority party on a committee.
Recess
Concludes legislative business and sets time for the next meeting of the legislative body.
Report
A committee's written record of its actions and views on a bill. The committee "reports" its findings to the House or Senate.
Rescission
A bill rescinding or canceling budget authority previously made available by Congress.
Resolution
A formal statement of a decision or opinion by the House or Senate or both. A simple resolution is made by one chamber and generally deals with that chamber's rules or prerogatives. A concurrent resolution is presented in both chambers and usually expresses a congressional view on a matter not within congressional jurisdiction. A joint resolution also requires approval in both chambers and goes to the president for approval. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the president.
Roll-Call Vote
Senators vote as their names are called by the clerk. Representatives electronically record their votes. Each House member has a card to insert at voting stations and a running count of votes is displayed. Roll-call votes and recorded teller votes are the only votes of which a public record is made.
S.
Stands for Senate and designates a bill originating in the Senate.
Speaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives. Presides over the House. Elected, in effect, by the majority party in the House. Next in line of succession to the presidency after the vice president.
Standing Vote
Proponents and opponents are asked to stand in turn (also called division vote). Votes of individuals are not recorded.
Suspend the Rules
A motion in the House intended to quickly bring a bill to a vote.
Table a Bill
A motion to, in effect, put a bill aside and thereby remove it from consideration or kill it.
Veto
Disapproval by the president of a bill or joint resolution (other than one proposing an amendment to the Constitution). When Congress is in session, the president must veto a bill within 10 days, excluding Sundays, of receiving it; otherwise, the bill becomes law without the president's signature.
Whip
A legislator who is chosen to be assistant to the leader of the party in both the House and Senate.
Sources:
Directory of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives 102nd Congress.
1991-1992, American Postal Workers Union; and 1990 - The U.S. Congress Handbook.
